Offered here is a factory documented United States Military Academy (West Point) shipped .357 Combat Magnum (Pre-Model 19) revolver. The Pre-Model 19 was only manufactured for about two years before it was renamed the Model 19. The accompanying S&W factory letter lists this revolver with 4 inch barrel, ramp front sight, nickel finish and checkered target stocks when it was shipped with another Pre-Model 19 in the same configuration, on February 6, 1957, and to the Cadet Store, West Point, New York. The letter also states that the shipping invoice indicates the two revolvers were "For Houltry, A.C. Co., E-1" and "Zeirot, W.H. CO E-1." "Houltry A.C." is Allyn C. Houltry, who graduated from West Point in 1959 and served the next 20 years as an infantry and military intelligence officer. His first overseas assignment was as an American advisor in Vietnam. It was during this tour that he was awarded a Purple Heart and the Combat Infantryman Badge. When he returned stateside Houltry was assigned as a guerilla warfare instructor at Ft. Holabird, Maryland. He was quickly recognized for his expert knowledge in the type of warfare the U.S. was up against in Vietnam and was often called to the Pentagon to brief senior Army staff on counter insurgency tactics. He later commanded a military intelligence unit in Berlin that exposed and apprehended a KGB colonel and served back-to-back tours in the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Army Staff. When he retired in 1979 he held the rank of lieutenant colonel. As a civilian, Houltry was a corporate security officer for Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio. He past away in 2002. At the time of this writing, W.H. Zeirot had yet to be identified and we are unable to determine which of these two West Point cadets received this revolver. The revolver has standard S&W markings, checkered S&W medallion target grips, matching serial numbers on the butt, cylinder and ejector shroud and matching assembly numbers on the yoke and crane. Provenance: Chad Gripp collection.

Excellent. The revolver retains 99% plus rare original nickel plating showing a light cylinder drag line and some minor scratches. 99% plus vivid original case colors remain on the hammer and trigger. Mechanically excellent. An identified West Point Cadet shipped Pre-Model 19 revolver that will make a great addition to any S&W Magnum collection.